Drip Dye Tees

I’m getting a little old for traditional tie dye designs. Sure they’re cool, but when your kids have all reached the age of high school and some are off to college, well, tie dye just seems a bit young. However, that doesn’t mean that I can’t create something fun and colorful to wear using a traditional tie dye kit! I saw some gorgeous tees on Pinterest where it looked like the dye had been dripped on instead of wrapping the tee in rubber bands first. I’m absolutely loving the result! Want to see how you can make some too?

Drip dyeing actually a lot easier than traditional tie dye methods because there’s no gathering, folding or banding involved. Just protect your surface, lay your tee down and drip away! I used Tuilp Tie Dye and love how it came out!

I actually liked this method so much that I ran to WalMart and bought a couple more tops so I could use up some more of the dye. I experimented with using dry shirts then dripping on dye, then dripping on some water.

I really like how these came out too!

Start off with Tulip’s Tie Dye Kits, I used Tropical Twist and Paradise Punch. You’ll also need something to cover your surface with.

Grab a white tee, I bought mine from Dollar General for $8.00. Choose a base color, it’s best to pick the lightest one. Refer to the actual package for what colors will look like when dry. Obviously this green looks a lot darker than it’s final result! Squeeze out some dry at the top of the tee, then taper off by dripping the dye instead of filling in solid areas.

Drip other colors, I found it easiest to hold the bottle pointing straight down and gently shaking it side to side. Be careful not to overdo it. I was actually afraid I went a bit crazy, so I drizzled a few drops of bleach over the finished dye job as well, to add a little white.

Follow the package directions for dry times. Tulip recommends you let the fabric site for 6-8 hours for the most vibrant results. I waited three as I really didn’t want to be too flashy.

I made the tee above and a tank. Notice the bleach drips too?

I’m really happy with the results and think this would be fabulous on a hoodie too!

Also does the shirt need to be 100% cotton? I tried to drip dye some shirts that were 60% cotton and they turned out differently than your shirts. They just looked the same as when I applied the dye with only a little bit of drip.

Ahhhh so cool! Thanks so much! I’ve been looking all over online for how too do this! I just want mine to be more like Crayon Art, if you’ve ever seen it. Then I also plan on doing a Ombre dye shirt too!
Thanks again! :D

I agree about the age thing & Tie dye. I’m 55 & don’t go to town wearing traditional tie dye. But recently my husband brought me #3 as a gift. Two of them were liked splashed with one color. He bought a pink one with the symbol for breast cancer awareness on lower right side. I wear the 2 single colored ones to town and I am excited to try your dripped ones & will wear to town. My youngest daughter getting married next march and you have given me some great ideas. In fact she had pinned the doily mason jars. Thank you for the great ideas!!

I hung t-shirts outside on clothes line.Then I had my grandchildren and great nephews fling the paint bottles toward the shirts. They turned out well and the kiddos loved them. This is what they done last Easter

Hi Amanda,
do you make and sell these shirts by any chance? Sorry if there is an obvious place on the site for this – I could’t see it if there was.
I love the shirts..but have no crafty ability (nor interest in developing one more to the point!) myself.

find your creativity!

Amanda Formaro is the creative mind behind hundreds of kid's crafts and adult home decor projects, all of which she shares on this blog and elsewhere throughout the online and print world. Learn more here...

Here’s the New Stuff

From Other Blogs

Connect

Amanda is a well-known craft expert and craft book author. She loves to create on a daily basis. Find out more here..

All images and text copyright Amanda Formaro 2014. For the purposes of featuring a post from Crafts by Amanda, you may use one photo that must be credited and linked back to the appropriate post on this blog. Please do NOT copy and paste anything from this website as it constitutes a violation of the AF/AC copyright.